Existing systems for remote workspace sharing typically enable a first user at one physical location to perform a task in a workspace, such as editing a document, whilst one or more remote users view changes being made to the work product by the first user. A remote user is then able to make changes to the work product and so on to enable remote collaboration. Typically, only one user at a time is able to make changes to the work product using the system. In addition, changes made on the common work product by one user often appear abruptly on displays used by the other users. As a result the interaction is perceived as unnatural by the users and is often inefficient. Such remote collaboration tools are often clumsy and limited in their ability to support fluent interaction over drawings, documents or other work products, in a way that users are familiar with from face-to-face communication.
For example, remote collaboration tools are known which enable users at different geographical locations to work on a common work product over a communications network. However, typically these require a first user to make a specific sequence of user actions to allow other people to control the first user's shared programs or desktop. Once this has been done, the first user might receive a request message from a second user at another location. That second user may request to take control of the first user's shared programs. The first user may then make user actions to release control to the second user. To pass control back to the first user, a similar sequence of actions needs to be taken. Thus to enable collaborative work to be carried out time consuming and complex user inputs need to be made to pass control between the users. This is not user friendly and collaborative work suffers as a result.
Remote collaboration software applications such as shared whiteboards are also known. However, a drawback here is the abrupt appearance of actions on the shared whiteboard or other work product which makes the system difficult to use. For example, suppose two users at different locations are using a shared whiteboard tool to brainstorm ideas. The whiteboard may display several items of text over large parts of the screen. If one user adds a small item of text in one area, this appears abruptly on the common whiteboard display and may not be detected by all the users. The user adding the text knows where to expect this text to appear but the other user does not. If that user is looking away or not attending when the abrupt change appears it is then difficult for that user to locate the amendment.